Interchurch  World  Movement 
of  North  America 


Work  and  Relations 

of  the 

Survey  Department 


Headquarters  of  the  Movement 
111  Fifth  Avenue  New  York  City 


The  Work  and  Relations  of  the 
Survey  Department 


I.  THE  WORK  OF  THE  SURVEY  DEPARTMENT 

1.  The  Survey  Department  of  the  Interchurch  World  Movement 
will  make  a  study  of  the  religious  conditions  of  the  entire  world. 

For  the  United  States,  including  Alaska,  Hawaii  and  the  West 
Indies,  this  study  will  seek  to  reveal  the  outstanding  needs  in  the 
realm  of  Home  Missions,  Education,  Religious  Education,  Hos¬ 
pitals  and  Homes,  and  Ministerial  Support  and  Relief. 

For  foreign  lands  it  will  seek  to  reveal  the  outstanding  needs  in 
all  phases  of  missionary  enterprise. 

By  cities  and  counties  in  this  country  and  by  well  defined  geo¬ 
graphical  units  in  foreign  lands,  it  is  proposed  that  the  exact  facts 
as  to  religious  conditions  and  religious  responsibilities  be  discov¬ 
ered  to  the  end  that  the  needs  of  each  community  and  region 
may  be  appraised  and  the  whole  task  of  the  church  put  in  clear 
light  and  due  proportion. 

2.  It  will  supply  the  results  of  its  survey  to  all  home  and  foreign 
missionary  agencies  in  the  United  States  and  to  all  other  agencies 
or  organizations  whose  work  is  surveyed. 

3.  It  will  offer  assistance  to  all  of  these  agencies  or  organizations 
in  preparing  plans  commensurate  with  their  responsibilities  in 
their  respective  fields  and  types  of  work. 

4.  It  will  formulate  a  united  statement  of  the  program  and  budget 
covering  those  plans  for  the  financial  campaign  of  the  Interchurch 
World  Movement. 

5.  It  will  furnish  to  the  appropriate  departments  of  the  Inter¬ 
church  World  Movement  material  for  publicity  in  this  campaign. 


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II.  HOW  THE  SURVEY  DEPARTMENT  DOES  ITS  WORK 


The  information  which  the  Survey  Department  requires  is  to  be 

secured  from  the  following  sources: 

1.  All  published  reports  and  survey  material  already  available. 

2.  Libraries,  reference  bureaus,  etc.,  for  general  facts  concerning 
all  areas  studied. 

3.  Interviews  with  those  whose  specialized  experience  in  any  line 
of  work  renders  their  judgment  authoritative. 

4.  Special  investigations  to  be  made  by  such  deputations  as  may  be 
sent  out  from  time  to  time. 

5.  Conferences  with  leaders  and  experts  on  special  problems  as  they 
arise  in  the  field. 

6.  Direct  inquiry  by  letter  or  questionnaire. 

7.  Direct  and  personal  study  of  the  fields  involved  in  cooperation 
with  local  leaders  and  with  their  approval. 

For  directing  such  a  study,  and  for  the  collection  and  classifica¬ 
tion  of  the  desired  material,  the  Survey  Department  is  organized 
into  the  following  divisions: 

a.  The  Home  Missions  Division  will  formulate  the  statement  of 
the  program  and  budget  covering  the  responsibilities  of  the 
American  home  mission  and  church  extension  agencies  for  the 
needs  of  the  United  States,  Alaska,  Hawaii  and  the  West  Indies. 
It  will  also  attempt  to  help  self-supporting  local  churches  to  dis¬ 
charge  their  parish  and  community  responsibilities  of  a  mission¬ 
ary  character. 

b.  The  Educational  Division  will  make  a  study  of  denominational 
and  independent  colleges  and  theological  seminaries;  also  state 
universities  and  other  tax-supported  institutions  and  secondary 
schools  in  the  United  States.  It  will  formulate  the  statement 
of  the  program  and  budget  covering  the  responsibilities  of  relig¬ 
ious  bodies  for  meeting  the  needs  of  Christian  education  in  the 
United  States  and  for  the  preparation  of  an  adequate  force  of 
Christian  leaders. 


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c.  The  Religious  Educational  Division  will  study  the  problems  of 
religious  education  in  the  home,  the  local  church  and  the  com¬ 
munity  in  order  to  secure  a  definite  body  of  facts  upon  which 
to  base  a  program  of  religious  education  for  the  United  States 
which  may  be  budgetted  in  terms  of  men  and  money. 

d.  The  Ministerial  Support  and  Relief  Division  will  formulate  the 
statement  of  the  program  and  budget  covering  the  responsibilities 
of  the  various  denominations  in  the  United  States  for  the  support 
of  their  ministers  and  for  the  relief  of  aged  and  dependent  min¬ 
isters,  missionaries,  and  their  families. 

e.  The  Hospitals  and  Homes  Division  will  formulate  the  statement 
of  the  program  and  budget  covering  the  responsibilities  of  those 
agencies  engaged  in  such  benevolent  enterprises  in  the  United 
States. 

f.  The  Foreign  Division  will  present  a  new  study  of  the  situation 
and  need  in  all  foreign  mission  fields,  in  such  terms  as  will  assist 
the  missionary  agencies  of  the  United  States  to  formulate  a  pro¬ 
gram  and  budget  commensurate  with  their  share  of  responsi¬ 
bility  for  Christianizing  the  world. 

III.  RELATION  OF  THE  SURVEY  DEPARTMENT  TO  DENOM¬ 
INATIONAL  AND  OTHER  SURVEYS 

* 

Note:  The  plans  for  cooperation  suggested  below  apply  in  principle 
to  all  denominational  and  other  agencies  whose  work  will  be  studied 
by  the  Survey  Department. 

The  organizing  principle  of  the  Interchurch  World  Movement  has 
been  characterized  as  a  thorough-going  plan  of  cooperation  among 
such  missionary,  educational  and  benevolent  agencies  of  the  evan¬ 
gelical  bodies  in  North  America  as  now  are  or  may  later  be  included 
in  the  plans  and  program  of  the  Interchurch  World  Movement. 

The  Survey  Department  will  do  a  work  of  fundamental  importance 
and  value  only  as  it  receives  the  fullest  cooperation  of  all  the  agencies 
which  are  now  engaged,  or  which  may  be  engaged  in  making  sur¬ 
veys  of  their  own  work.  With  this  cooperation  the  Survey  Depart¬ 
ment  will  be  enabled  to  make  a  study  of  the  entire  world  in  order 
that  the  whole  task  of  the  church  may  be  put  in  a  clear  light  and  in 
due  proportion. 


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With  the  full  cooperation  of  the  leaders  at  home  and  abroad,  a 
survey  statement  can  be  secured  which  will  not  only  furnish  denom¬ 
inational  programs  approved  by  denominational  leaders  and  based 

* 

upon  scientific  data,  but  also  a  united  program  for  all  evangelical 
bodies  of  the  United  States,  for  their  missionary,  educational  and 
benevolent  work.  We  believe  that  such  a  statement  is  demanded 
by  the  Christian  forces  today.  A  united  program  statement  of  this 
character  in  the  nature  of  the  case  will  be  more  than  the  sum  of  all 
the  individual  programs  independently  arrived  at.  Such  a  program 
must  be  made  in  collaboration  with  all  the  forces  on  the  field,  sup¬ 
plemented  by  such  independent  investigations  as  may  be  necessary. 

This  cooperation  may  be  realized  in  the  following  practical  ways: 

A.  By  denominational  and  other  agencies: 

1.  In  coordinating  their  survey  processes  with  those  of  the  Survey 
Department  of  the  Interchurch  World  Movement. 

2.  In  urging  the  help  of  their  leaders  on  the  field,  at  home  and 
abroad,  to  secure  the  information  needed  in  the  formulation  of 
these  programs. 

3.  In  informing  the  Survey  Department  how  far  plans  for  the  expan¬ 
sion  of  their  own  work  have  already  been  developed,  and  in 
coordinating  these  plans  with  the  -program  of  the  Interchurch 
World  Movement. 

4.  In  supplying  the  Survey  Department  with  the  findings  of  their 
various  deputations  being  sent  out  from  time  to  time. 

B.  By  the  Survey  Department: 

1.  In  recognizing  all  such  surveys  as  an  integral  part  of  the  world 
survey. 

2.  In  applying  to  those  agencies  such  necessary  graphic  and  statis¬ 
tical  facilities  as  will  make  uniform  the  presentation  of  all  facts. 

3.  In  receiving  the  findings  of  such  deputations  as  may  be  sent  out 
from  time  to  time. 

4.  In  furnishing  to  the  several  agencies  a  standardized  form  for  the 
statement  of  their  complete  programs. 


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It  is  believed  that  such  a  plan  of  cooperation  involving  a  sym¬ 
pathetic  coordinated  study  of  the  whole  range  of  activities  now 
being  carried  on  by  the  evangelical  bodies  of  North  America  will 
result  in  the  largest  economy,  and  will  make  available  to  all  con¬ 
stituents  information  and  facilities  which  would  be  difficult  or 
impracticable  for  them  to  provide  for  themselves. 

IV.  FINAL  STATEMENTS  OF  THE  SURVEY  DEPARTMENT 

As  has  been  indicated,  the  final  stage  in  the  work  of  the  Survey 
Department  will  be  the  preparation  of  united  program  statements, 
based  on  the  entire  body  of  facts  gathered  and  on  the  programs  of 
the  participating  agencies.  These  statements  will  be  used  in  the 
financial  campaign  of  the  Interchurch  World  Movement.  Such 
program  statements  will  be  assembled  in  two  volumes,  one  for  the 
United  States  and  one  for  foreign  lands.  A  “Program  Statement” 
is  an  authoritative  analytical  statement  of  the  objectives  of  any 
agency  or  organization  in  a  given  enterprise  and  of  the  resources 
in  men  and  money  needed  to  attain  those  objectives.  Program 
statements  of  this  kind  may  be  made  for  a  definite  geographical 
unit,  for  a  single  institution,  for  work  of  a  given  type,  for  the  work 
of  a  given  denomination  or  organization,  or  for  the  entire  evangelical 
enterprise  at  home  or  in  foreign  lands.  The  authoritative  character 
of  such  a  statement  will  be  derived  from  the  approval  of  it  by  the 
various  agencies  or  organizations  concerned. 

The  Survey  Department,  by  presenting  such  a  united  and  propor¬ 
tionate  study  of  the  evangelical  forces  of  North  America,  may  be¬ 
come  a  clearing  house  of  information  for  all  agencies  involved  and 
will  be  of  assistance  to  all  of  them,  without  in  any  way  interfering 
with  their  naturally  constituted  authority. 


September  22,  1919 


No.  152.  I.  3.  Sept.  1919 


